What Is The Messenger?
The Messenger is a platformer that came out for the PC as well as the Nintendo Switch on August 30. The latter is a most appropriate choice, seeing as how The Messenger is a callback to both the NES and the Super NES. To be exact, it is a curious blend of 8-bit platformers such as Ninja Gaiden as well as 16-bit Metroidvania games such as, well, the 2D side-scrolling Metroid and Castlevania games.
What Can People Expect from The Messenger?
Story-wise, the player controls a ninja whose home has been attacked by demons. As a result, the initial part of The Messenger is focused on the ninja’s effort to deliver a magical scroll to a far-off mountain. However, there comes a point in the game when time travel is introduced to the plot, thus separating the 8-bit platformer segments into the “present” and the 16-bit Metroidvania segments into the “future.” As a result, while The Messenger seems like a simple and straightforward homage to the earlier Ninja Gaiden games, it is not limited to that particular role, as shown by its membership in the modern Metroidvania renaissance.
Of course, considering its genres, it should come as no surprise to learn that The Messenger will see players collecting a wide range of items so as to pick up a wide range of capabilities. For examples, some of the learn-able moves range from gliding to climbing walls, while some of the acquirable equipment range from shurikens to rope darts. Naturally, since The Messenger is both a platformer and a Metroidvania, this means that players will have to use these capabilities as well as equipment to explore the full extent of its levels.
Summed up, people who remember the NES and Super NES eras with fondness might want to check out The Messenger, particularly if they are interested in games that experiment with blurring the boundaries between different genres.
